7. iRunFar

The ultrarunner’s resource

iRunFar is so good at what it does—shoe reviews, trail guides, race previews and reports, athlete interviews—that it’s tempting to call it a website and not a blog. Who else offers coverage this comprehensive of the ultrarunning scene and still manages to post gear reviews and the occasional trail guide? But since all of the site’s content is produced or edited by Powell or Andy Jones-Wilkins, we think it qualifies as a blog. That’s no slight, of course.

…The guys at the bottom of the list, who’ll need a career day to go top 15 on Saturday, win local 50ks and routinely finish top three at established 100 mile races. This is of little surprise as for the past few years the only American ultra with a men’s field depth on par with the TNF 50 mile is Western States. Nothing else is close.

That said, it might be even harder to wrap one’s head around the talent at the front of this field. Here are the (American ultra) household names in the field: Roes, Wardian, Wolfe, Koerner, Jones, Bragg, Kaburaki, and Sharman. You might need to read that a few times for it to sink in. …